


Plagued Web

by TK_DuVeraun



Series: Legacies (SW:TOR) [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Original Character(s), Original Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-02 15:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11511783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TK_DuVeraun/pseuds/TK_DuVeraun
Summary: Cast aside for being Force sensitive and a boy besides, the echani Castel proves his worth to himself by defending the poor souls on Nar Shaddaa. He aspires to nothing more than his vigilante life until he meets a mysterious Forcer with an unfathomable interest in him.--Series is not required reading, but there is some crossover.





	1. Corporeal

**Author's Note:**

> Previous stories in this series are not necessary reading, though they are connected. Circumstances and situations in this story will answer questions raised in earlier parts.

She is everywhere Castel goes. He’s first spotted her on Zeltros. A red-head among all of the red-skins. There were plenty of tourists, the stars only knew how much Castel stood out with his milk-white skin and hair, but instead of sinking back into the crowd of people enjoying the decadent Zeltron lifestyle, she looked glaringly out of place. Castel had a list of things, and people, to do, but instead he stood and stared at her for five minutes that felt like hours.

He tries to forget about her and the way her sharp frown and defensive posture separated her from the masses, but then he sees her on Nar Shaddaa. Everywhere on Nar Shaddaa. In the Star Cluster Cantina, down underneath the Red Light district and even two hundred meters from his own rusty door. 

She never speaks to him, but her constant eye contact acknowledges his notice. The first few times he saw her, Castel thought she was just some vision of inebriation or exhaustion, but she was always… there.

One night he scrambles home, one hand clutching his bleeding shoulder and the other loosely gripping the hilt of a lightsaber that almost wasn’t enough to keep him alive. He’s careful on his vigilante missions, but there was no way he could have predicted some guard’s birthday resulting in three times the normal force on site.

He closes his eyes, just for a second, just to banish the anxiety from his brush with death, but when he opens them she’s  _ there _ . He shouts and jumps back; the white shadow isn’t ready to meet the red. Air stutters in his chest as he breathes in. “What- Who are you?”

She doesn’t answer. Her eyes sweep over him with an intensity that raises the hair on the back of his neck, even though it’s soaked through with a cold sweat. She frowns as he lifts his lightsaber, though she shows no fear or surprise at the weapon. 

Castel eyes her right back. This close, he can see that her dark grey coat is expensive and  _ armored _ , though this far from the Promenade, it’d be stranger without protection. He’s looking for a weapon when she lunges forward and snatches his wrist. Her grip is punishing and she twists his arm so that even if he managed to light his saber, he wouldn’t be able to wound her.

His red shadow jabs his wounded shoulder with her free hand before Castel can even start struggling. She speaks and her voice is quiet and somehow  _ empty _ . “You need medical attention.”

Castel’s echani blood is the only thing keeping him in control of his terror. Held against her, he can see that she’s crisscrossed with battle scars, even if her clothing is immaculate. He doesn’t give himself good odds against her, even if he wasn’t injured. “I’ve had worse.” He tries to pull away. “I’ll be fine.”

She sticks a gloved finger directly into the half-cauterized blaster wound. “I think not.”

Castel holds the howl back and manages only a hiss of pain. “What’s it to you?  _ Who are you _ ?”

“What are the slums of Nar Shaddaa to you? You can run around playing hero, but I cannot?” She twists his arm until even his echani muscles cry out and rips the lightsaber hilt from his hand.

“I’m not playing. I’m trying to protect people. And give that back, you’ll just…” He trails off when he sees her attach it on her belt next to her own lightsaber hilt. “...Hurt yourself.” He tugs at it with the Force, but isn’t surprised when it doesn’t so much as twitch.

She releases his arm. “You cannot protect anyone if you’re dead.”

Castel lets his pride override his fear. “I don’t need your help.” He lifts his chin at her, but her expression doesn’t change and she doesn’t move. Once he realizes she’s not going anywhere, he concedes. “Fine. Medical attention. We’ll do that. And then you’ll give me my saber back.”

“The place you’re staying is near. Go there. I will heal you.”

“How do you know that?” Castel asks. But he doesn’t leave her time to respond, instead he snarls and says, “Because you’ve been following me. Fine. Let’s go.”

“You’re not the careful sort, are you, Castel?” She asks, leading the way.

“You know my name. What should I call you?”

She spares him a single glance. “Whatever you want.”

His apartment is a walled-off, drafty, corner in a repurposed industrial warehouse. The air is damp and tastes metallic, though Castel no longer notices it. He watches her enter his security code and step in as if she’s the one paying the weekly rent. 

She peels off her gloves tosses them on top of his table. It wobbles under the paltry weight, but she looks unconcerned. She gestures to his bed, the only place to sit in the glorified closet. “Sit down. Comfortably.”

Castel scowls at her, but does as she instructed before she man-handles him again.

She leans over him, inspecting first the cut on his forehead. “This one isn’t as bad as it looks.”

From this angle, Castel can see that  _ her lip movement doesn’t actually match up with what she’s saying _ . He shivers and starts to pull away, but her hands are like vices on him as she examines his shoulder. “How are you… talking?”

She tugs at his leatheris jacket. “Take this off.” The movements are closer now, but Castel is echani by blood and he can analyze body movements better than any human.

“How are you talking?” He asks again.

The woman looks into his eyes for a moment before drawing a vibroknife and bringing it to the collar of his jacket.

“Hey! Wait! Fine! I’ll take it off!” Castel ignores the pain in his shoulder as he removes the battleworn leatheris. The edges of the hole on his shoulder are still smoldering, but are clean enough he should be able to patch it.

She pays his wardrobe no mind and instead uses the Force to pull the charred scraps of material out of his wound. It’s an ugly thing and cleaning it hurts more than being shot did, but if she notices his pain, she doesn’t react to it. Eventually, she cups her hands over it - one in front and the other behind.

Purple light seeps out from under her hands and she lips are moving silently, though the stifling air in the apartment buzzes with the Force. 

Castel stares, hypnotized by the light. “...What’s that? The glow.”

Her faces twists into an unmistakable expression of pain before she sighs and pulls her hands away. The wound is gone; in its place is a nasty scar. The skin is twisted and streaked with purple lines, but whole. She pulls back and then leans heavily against one of the walls. It creaks. She rubs a hand over her eyes. “The Force. Odd that you use a lightsaber, but cannot recognize even that much.”

“I’m not a Jedi. Or a Sith.” He raises his chin again and smirks, proud of his independence. “None of them care about the people here. I do.”

“They believe in things bigger than the poor wretches on a single, lonely moon.”

“By they, you mean ‘we,’ right? You’ve got to be one of them.”

She shrugs and then slumps down to the dirty floor.

“Are you alright?”

She waves her hand, as if she could knock the concern out of the air. “It is draining.”

Castel turns back to his scar, hesitant to look at her too long. “Nice trick, though.”

“The Force is not a trick. It is a manifestation of energy and power. Using the Force as a conduit, I put my energy into healing  _ you _ .”

He looks back at her, so he can read her expression, read her body language, but it’s a wasted effort. She’s asleep, sitting up with her back against the cold, metal sheeting.


	2. Specific Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castel's stalker wants something. He's happy to give her anything.

After the first real meeting, Castel’s red shadow stays where he can see her. Though she rarely interferes with his self-imposed missions, she sweeps in and heals him afterward. The first time she fights with him is like a dream for Castel. 

She whirls between and around his enemies, her twin red sabers cutting sharp arcs through the air. Her movements are as precise and graceful as a dance. She moves more like an Echani than he does and it warms his blood with more than envy.

He begs her then, and every time he sees her after, to teach him. If he could fight like her, he could make a real difference on Nar. If he could join her in the deadly dance… But she refuses him.

Even with his racial talent and the weak Empathy the Force grants him, he can’t understand her. If she wants him alive so badly, surely she’d train him to better defend himself. He’s still picturing her expression when steps into his apartment.

And there she is, asleep on his cramped cot. Her expensive coat, easily worth more than the entire building, is rumpled underneath her and stained with her blood from a slash on her left arm. The scars on her face are covered by sharp, jagged lines of burned, inflamed skin.

Castel can’t help himself. He walks up and touches the small patch of intact skin on her cheek. He hisses as traces of Dark Force brush against his untrained senses. _ Is this… Force lightning? _

“What happened to you?” But when silence is his only answer, he sits on the floor next to the cot. Her breathing is even and unlabored, though Castel can’t imagine sleeping with those injuries.

He’s still watching her face when her eyelids flutter and she wakes up. Her eyes open and while she must see him, she pays him no notice as she groans and rolls onto her back to look up at the ceiling.

“I…” Castel swallows the lump in his throat. “Are you alright?” He stands and steps back to avoid caging her in.

“I’m fine.” She sits up and sets her booted feet on the floor. She rubs her face, flinching as her gloves aggravate the burns.

“What  _ happened _ ?”

“I upset someone.”

Castel clenches both of his hands into fists. “Who?”

She puts her hand over one of his fists. It would be intimate if her expression wasn’t so cold. “No one you can fight.”

“Why not? I’m a warrior.”

She frowns, though she looks more disappointed than anything else. “If I cannot defeat him, you have no chance.”

“I’m echani. If you would just train me to fight with sabers…”

“You don’t want to fight as I do.”

“Of course I do. You’re so  _ strong _ . You could best any of the Matriarchs.”

She sighs. “I don’t save people.”

“You save me.”

She shrugs and looks away from him. She traces the sharp lightning burns on her face, even though they must still hurt. “If you think yourself safe with me, you’re an idiot. You don’t know my name, my loyalties or… anything about me, really.”

“You saved me. You healed me. What more do I need to know?”

“What if I’m trying to lure you into a false sense of security? Eventually, I agree to train you, reluctantly enough you don’t question it, and then I take you away to be slaughtered.”

“You’re not going to do that. I trust you.”

“You don’t  _ know _ me.”

He growls in frustration and runs a hand over his white hair. “Fine. Forget I asked. You came here and just passed out in my bed. I could have done anything. How’s that for trust?”

“Could have done what, exactly?” The way she eyes him make it clear what answer she’s fishing for.

Castel looks away from her, from the  _ bed _ . “You know. Kill you, or something.”

She laughs and when he turns back to face her, she just laughs harder. “Do you truly think yourself capable of such a thing?”

“No, but you knew that. You trusted me. That’s all I’m saying.” He frowned at her.

“It’s not about trust, Castel. You’re too weak to kill me.”

Castel frown morphs into a scowl. “I might not be trained the way you are, but I’m still Echani. I was  _ made _ to be a warrior.”

The woman rolls her eyes and then disarms. She sets both of her saberhilts on the floor next to her feet and then beckons. “Attack me.”

“You’re unarmed. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Attack me,” she says, with enough emotion that Castel gives her what she wants.

He leaves his lightsaber on his belt, but he throws himself at her. No human could hope to match an echani in hand to hand combat.

But his hubris is immediately rewarded by her throwing him facedown onto the cot with movements so quick he can’t even follow. He turns back and sees her standing over him, smirking down. Castel felt the blood rush to his face in embarrassment before he sprang to his feet.

He eyed her stance and slipped into an opposing one. The second time, he lead with a feint before striking with his right arm, but whether thanks to training or the Force, the woman catches his wrist and spins him around.

She pins his hand to his back and presses close. Her breath is hot on his ear, but instead of whispering, she speaks to him with the Force - directly into his mind.  _ You cannot win _ .

He struggles, but she just ends up catching his left hand, holding it tight against his right. He grunts with his efforts to free himself. “No such thing as can’t.”

She releases him for a moment, only to change her grip before she throws him onto the cot. It screeches in loud protest, but doesn’t break, even when she climbs after him to pin him down.

_ You will not _ , her voice whispers in his head.

Castel struggles, but his goal is no longer to defeat her in a fight. “Let me go.”

_ And what will you do if I release you? _

He doesn’t know how her mind whispering works, but he concentrates hard on what he wants to do to her…  _ with _ her and envisions the image going from his mind to hers. Whether or not she saw his thoughts, she leans down and presses her mouth hard against his.

\---

Castel is still flat on his back panting when the woman is up and redressing. No one had been able to keep up with him in bed, before. Not even on his trip to Zeltros where the locals had used their pheromones on him.  _ I should have been kriffing Forcers… _

The woman spares him a look, the flush already gone from her skin. “Are you satisfied?”

He wants to ask how she speaks again, since she’s just proved without a doubt she doesn’t have a tongue, but his limbs are still jelly and he feels too good to want to argue. “That was incredible.”

“Do you often kriff women without knowing their names?”

“You an exception. To everything.”

“So it would seem.”

With effort, Castel pushes himself up to a sitting position. “Why did you want to do that?”

She looks over her buckles at him. “Why did you?”

He pauses and sighs. “I suppose your reasons don’t matter.”

“Do they ever? For this?” She turns away to finish fastening her armor, but aborts the motion mid-way. She frowns and looks down at herself and back to Castel a few times. “Something isn’t right.”

Castel tilted his head to the side, listening, but his Force sense isn’t reacting and he can’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “I don’t sense any…” He trails off because as he says the words, there’s an odd tug on his awareness. “Do you mean..?” He makes a vague gesture.

Her frown deepens and there’s an angry wrinkle on her forehead. “This is a Force bond.”

“A… what?”

“We’re connected in the Force now,” she answers. She does  _ something _ and suddenly Castel can clearly feel her presence.

He closes his eyes and  _ yes _ , he knows where she is in the same way he knows where his hands are, even though he can’t see them. He opens his eyes and stares at her. “This… Doesn’t normally happen when people kriff, does it? Because it hasn’t happened  _ before _ .”

The anger is clear on her face. “No, kriffing does not usually result in a Force bond. Don’t be stupid.”

“Well, this is strange. Is there any way to reverse it?”

“If you want to risk your sanity.”

“So this is permanent.”

“If we remain in general contact, yes.” She flicks her wrist and her lightsaber hilts fly through the air and snap into her palm. “They can dissipate over time.”

“I’d like to remain in general contact.” He cleared his throat. “And very specific contact.”

Her expression twists with disgust. “You’re pathetic.”

“I, huh?”

“So the destitute and helpless of Nar Shaddaa are forgotten in the shadow of a single kriff.”

“It’s not like that.”

She snarls at him and says, “Perhaps this will dissuade you of your desire for ‘specific contact.’” She flicks her wrist again and Force lightning shoots out of her hand.

The pain knocks him unconscious almost instantly. When he wakes, she’s gone. He examines himself, but can’t find any trace of the Force lightning burns she’d had when he found her, so he counts himself lucky.


	3. Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castel gets closer to his shadow and forcefully ignores the Force trying to tell him it's a bad idea.

Castel is sitting on his cot, wincing as he tends his injuries. No Force healing, she wouldn’t even teach him that much, no, he has some diluted kolto and stained bandages. He turns his head towards the door when he hears the lock click open, but still startles when it’s thrown open and crashes against the metal sheeting of the wall. He leaps to his feet only to see his red-haired ghost stagger inside.

She falls to her knees and when she looks up at him, her eyes are wild. Blood is smeared across her forehead and drips in tracks down from her eyes like tears. Her wrists are cuffed together in front of her and she’s waving them around erratically.

At first, Castel thinks she’s just trying to draw his attention to the cuffs - as if he could miss the way they seem to suck in the Force around them - but then he realizes that she’s trying to talk to him in sign language. It’s distorted by her restraints, but even if they hadn’t both known the rare language, the message should have been clear:  _ Take them off _ .

He flinches when he touches them, but Castel pushes past the  _ wrongness _ of the Force suppression cuffs and works on them with his vibroknife for three agonizing minutes before they pop open. He throws them out of his apartment and shuts the door with a touch of Force.

When he looks back at the woman, she’s seated in a classic meditation posture and glowing a sharp purple. The Force writhes over her skin, restoring colour to her features and drying the blood in its wake.

Heart pounding in his chest, Castel kneels in front of her. “What happened?”

She ignores his question, or doesn’t hear him. Eventually, the glow dissipates and she relaxes. She rubs her wrists and eyes Castel. “That was a healing trance. That I can teach you. I won’t always be available to run here and tend your hurts.”

He didn’t expect her to suddenly bare her heart, but part of Castel is still disappointed. Despite that, he wants to learn anything she’ll teach him. “I’d like that. Looks useful.”

She eyes him and seems to notice his own injuries for the first time. She frowns and signs for him to remove his shirt. “Do strut around with a target painted on your chest? You’re always injured.”

“You know what I get up to,” he says. He removes his shirt, revealing several fresh bruises, and sits opposite her, copying her posture from earlier. “And you speak sign language? Terran, that is, the man that raised me, he said only Echani and the destitute knew it anymore. Everyone else just gets cybernetics.”

It sounds as if she’s speaking normally, but he’s looking directly at her and she’s not even bothering to move her lips. “If you can’t figure it out by now-”

“Look, I  _ know _ you don’t have a tongue, but why don’t you get cybernetics? You can clearly afford them.”

She goes back to pretending and moving her lips. “You are going to focus on your life Force and concentrate it on your wounds.”

Castel bites back his complaint and takes a few even breaths to calm himself. He knows if he presses for an explanation, she’ll leave without teaching him the Healing Trance. “I don’t know what you mean by life Force.”

She sighs and rubs her forehead. Her lips move silently, as if she’s talking to herself. Finally she makes a frustrated noise in her throat and reaches for him. She touches his temple with two fingers and Castel’s vision goes grey.

He can suddenly  _ see _ and  _ feel _ inside her head. Gently, she guides him through the process within herself before she pulls back. Castel blinks at her owlishly for a moment before giving a full body shiver. He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. As he releases the breath, he copies the technique she just showed him.

“Acceptable,” she says. “You will require practice, but the bruising has already begun to fade. Your blood gives you an advantage. Most do not have such awareness of their body.”

Castel smiles at her and feels like a flower seeing the sun for the first time after winter.

She snorts. "Don’t act foolishly. This will not save you from anything too serious. You will need to call for me if you become badly injured.”

Castel lets his resentment colour his expression and voice. “I can’t call you when I don’t know who you  _ are _ .”

“We are bound in the Force.” She narrows her eyes at him and again her voice sounds directly inside his head.  _ We have no need for comms and holosignatures. _

_ Oh right. _ He rubs the back of his neck.  _ Is it… working? Can you hear me? _

“Yes, but don’t use it needlessly, or I shall revisit the idea of severing the bond.” She rubs her cheek and grimaces as the dried blood flakes off and rains down onto her lap.

Castel watches her stand and then reaches for his shirt. “Is this the part where you blast me with lightning and leave, then?”

“You don’t want to kriff first?” She raises an eyebrow at him.

“No. Yes! I mean, the shower’s through here. You’re a little-” He gestures to her face, still streaked with blood. “Not that I mind, but-” He cuts himself off as she brushes past him, dropping her clothing on the way.

 

\---

 

A month passes, then two. She appears a few times, mostly to treat his wounds, but she’s saved his life in combat more times than he likes to consider. They kriff more often than not, but she dresses immediately after and never spends the night. Castel hesitates to call her for help. He doesn’t want to light the spark the leads to her breaking off contact.

But then a wound in his leg gets infected and he doesn’t have to be a medic to know that red lines leading away from the wound are deadly. He’s delirious when she arrives and he’s not even sure if he fainted or if she knocked him out with the Force.

When he wakes up, it’s to an unfamiliar room. Medical equipment, clean,  _ expensive _ medical equipment, is attached to him by a web of tubes and wires. Fear tries to settle down over him, but he’s too drugged for the anxiety to take root. He tilts his head around, his vision swimming a little, and eventually sees her sleeping in a cushy chair next to his bed.

He feels for her, for their  _ bond _ , in the Force and he knows she’s awake, though her eyes are closed and her expression is clear. Her features are beautiful and aristocratic under the map of scars from Force lightning and who knew what else. Castel could stare at her for hours, but he knows that only upsets her. “Where am I?”

She cracks one blue eye open to glance at him before closing it again. “Hospital on Nar. I could have saved your life, but I wasn’t going to bet your leg against my mediocre healing.”

“Hospital on Nar. You mean a Cartel hospital.” As weak as drugged as he is, Castel still tries to lever himself out of the bed.

She doesn’t move her body, not even to look at him, but a heavy hand of Force holds him down. “I’ll also not let you lose your leg to your ideals. The Force is in everything, but living things especially. If you lose a limb, you lose that Force. If you truly want to be strong, you cannot afford to sacrifice your body so carelessly.”

“Without my ideals, I’ve got nothing. I’m not taking a Cartel handout.” He struggles against her power, stubbornness winning over good sense.

“It’s not a handout if I’m paying for it. Do you really think they’d treat an alien gutter-rat like you for free? With these amenities?”

“That’s even worse. Do you know what they’re going to do with those credits?”

“Make money. They don’t actively try to do harm. That’s a waste of money. Hutts have their uses, even the Jedi acknowledge this and they are the so-called ‘peace keepers of the galaxy.’”

He gives up on trying to fight her off, but sets his jaw and crosses his arms over his chest - at least, as much as he can with the wires and tubes. “That’s why the Jedi are wrong. They just ignore what’s going on here.”

“Have you ever heard of the Sacking?”

“Obviously. I grew up on Alderaan, not under a rock.”

“The Jedi work to prevent travesties like  _ that _ . If you want to waste your time saving ten, perhaps twenty people, fine. However, do not try to pretend that you have the moral high ground when they are saving billions.”

Castel looks over at her and sees she’s given up the pretense of sleeping and her face is set in a look of fierce calculation. Drugged as he is, though, it just angers him more. “There are plenty of Jedi, but nobody to care about these people here.”

“And if you weaken yourself by losing limbs on  _ principle _ , there will be no one.”

“There are clinics. Doctors the Cartel doesn’t own. I know. I’m funding a few. Take me there.”

She stands then and places one hand on the center of his chest. His weak Empathy flares to life and he feels real fear from her. “Do you have any idea how close you were losing your leg? To dying?”

“...apparently, close than I thought.”

“If you had had to wait to be seen at the clinic, we would be fitting you for prosthetics right now,  _ at best _ . Preach all you want about saving people and the evil of the Hutts, but those things don’t change  _ my _ priorities. You’re safe and whole. That’s what’s important.”

He sighs and places his hand over hers before she moves away. It’s so rare for him to feel anything from her other than boredom and disdain that he doesn’t want to ruin it, but he needs to  _ understand _ . “Why am I your priority? Who  _ are _ you?”

She touches his cheek with her free hand. The motion is fond, but the warmth doesn’t reach her eyes. “You can call me Av. As for why, do I need a reason?”

“Av.” He likes the taste of her name in his mouth, even if it sounds like it might come from avenue and just be a lie to placate him. “It doesn’t make sense. I’m just one man trying to fight the Hutts.”

“You have the potential to be so much more.”

Castel’s forehead furrows. He’s still doped up, but he’s  _ certain _ there was real vehemence in what she said. “If that’s what you want, why do you keep refusing to teach me?”

She pulls her hands back and looks away from him. “I’m no teacher.”

“You taught me the healing trance.”

“That’s a child’s technique. Something babes are taught when they first learn to use the Force.”

Castel’s hand clenches into a fist. “Yeah, well, there was no one to teach the abandoned echani boy. I found a failed padawan a few years ago. When he died, I took his saber.”

“That doesn’t mean I can teach you advanced techniques.”

“You could at least teach me more than I know now!”

“Find someone else to teach you. I will not.”

“No one’s going to teach me without making me join their order. The Jedi or… Yours.” She’s never admitted to being Sith, but Castel isn’t stupid. There’s nothing else she could be.

Av takes a moment to respond. When she does, she’s looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “And what is wrong with joining?”

“The Sith… The Dark Side isn’t right. And the Jedi wouldn’t let me continue here.”

“You’re not native to this place. And you were raised on Alderaan besides. Why are you so attached?”

“I just… I go down to the slums and there’s so much pain. So much misery. So many people that were…  _ unwanted _ .” He looks away from her, hoping it will mask his emotions. He’s too drugged to properly control his facial muscles.

“There is so much more pain to be found in the galaxy than in the slums of Nar Shaddaa.”

“What are you saying?”

“That you’re wasting yourself here.”

He sighs. “Someone has to.”

“And that someone is not you. Are you really making a difference? Truly? If you put as much time and effort into training, give it a year, then what could you be doing?”

“That’s not a suggestion.”

“Find a teacher. Become strong. Explore the galaxy and  _ then _ decide if you are truly best spent here.”

“ _ Who _ ?”

“My suggestion is the Jedi, but you’re obviously not hearing that, so you’re on your own.”

“The Jedi wouldn’t allow…” He gestures between them.

“The Green Jedi. There are factions. There are  _ ways _ . You  _ want _ to be alone.”

“Alone except for you.”

“I will not train you.”

“Then I guess you’ll just keep patching me up like this.”

“Then so be it.”

 


	4. Vibrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Av finally convinces Castel to get properly trained

Castel tries to copy her forms, but even after accounting for a different center of mass, he can’t get close to the graceful moves she executes without trying. It would be frustrating for a human, but for an echani, even one that wasn’t formally trained on the Sisters, it’s embarrassing.

Not that Av notices. She pays him no attention when she’s fighting at his side. Her sabers whirl in a sharp trakata style, blades turning on and off to slip through blocks and launch devastating attacks.

He practices feeling her location through their bond, but it never seems to help, though he can’t be sure when she kills their opponents too quickly for it to matter. He lets her lead him home and wonders, not for the first time, why she wastes her time on him when she’s so talented.

And wealthy. As much as he hates the Cartel, he couldn’t avoid knowing how much they overcharge their patients. Av must have spent a small fortune saving his leg and he knows it’s not fairies that have left food and new boots in his apartment. She never mentions it, or draws attention to everything she’s done for him, but he’s always aware. Just as how he can always feel her through their bond. He’s more than half in love with her.

One time, after they kriff, Castel can hold it in no longer. He watches her dress and says, “Don’t go. Not just yet.”

Av turns to face him and tilts her head, as if she’s not sure she heard him correctly. She waits with her hands held still on her armor’s fasteners.

Castel sits up, trying to bolster his courage. “I, uh, haven’t been with anyone else. In weeks.” The truth is, he hasn’t been with anyone else since they met properly, but he’s afraid of how she’ll respond to that.

“Congratulations?” She stretches the word out, visibly confused as to what he wants from her. She’s clever and strategic, but sometimes Castel has to wonder how much she ever interacts with other people.

Castel frowns and shifts towards her a little. “What I mean is… This,  _ you _ , are important to me. More than just the kriffing.”

With a sigh, she connects the buckle in her hands and then ties her hair back. “I gather this is the part where you wait expectantly for me to say that I’ve not been with anyone else, either?”

“No, I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s not true anyway. And I don’t really want to know the specifics. I’m just saying… I care about you, Av.”

Her mouth curves into a confused frown. “Why?”

“What do you mean  _ why _ ? I didn’t  _ decide _ to feel this way. I just do.”

Av eyes him. Her feelings are inscrutable, even with his Empathy and their bond. Eventually, she seems to come to some conclusion and nods to herself. “Alright. You cannot ask me to train you anymore.”

It takes longer than he likes for Castel to understand what she’s talking about. “And if I agree to that, we’ll be… together?”

“We’re already together,” Av says. She pulls on her armored coat. “But if you require exclusivity as incentive to stop badgering me, then that shall become the condition.”

“That’s… uncomfortably businesslike.”

“Your constant nagging for training was uncomfortably annoying.”

He can’t stop the grin that crosses his face. “You just made a joke!”

She looks down at him again, expression considering. “Do you know what sound is?”

“Uh, yeah? It’s what we hear.” He tries not to sound too confused. She never speaks without purpose and stops if she thinks he can’t follow her train of thought.

Her expression wavers, but eventually she decides to keep talking. “Sound is how our ears interpret tiny vibrations in the air. I speak by using the Force to create those vibrations.”

“Oh. I wondered,” he says. After thinking about it, his eyes widen.  _ The precision required for that must be amazing. _

“I know. That’s why I told you.” She pauses and her posture turns uncertain. After some hesitation, Av sits on the edge of Castel’s ramshackle table. “I’ve never been able to speak.” Her right hand runs over the scars around her mouth and down her throat. “The damage was done when I was an infant. You’ve seen it. You may as well know.”

“Who did that to you?”

A wrinkle forms between her eyebrows. “My mother. Who else would?”

A breath catches in Castel’s throat. “Your own mother?”  _ At least mine only threw me out _ .

“Blood relation counts for very little,” she says.  _ As a Sith _ goes unspoken.

“That’s still horrible. We shouldn’t let her keep on living.”

Av blinks and tilts her head. “But you don’t believe in the power of the Dark Side.”

“I believe in it, but it’s a bad thing. And your mother seems to be a perfect example.”

“And one instance of mutilation is enough to warrant death in your mind?”

“But I care about you.” He shakes his head.

“That just means you’re enacting revenge, not justice. That is the Dark Side.” Av rubs her face with one hand and the table creaks beneath her. “You need a teacher.”

Castel sighs and lays back down on his bed. “I… met a Jedi. Yollan Ster. He’s with some… order of Dark Side hunters. They take recruits that aren’t Jedi and don’t  _ only _ hunt Sith. He offered me a place with them. And… Training.”

“You should accept the offer. If they’re Dark Side hunters, they’ll make you strong.”

He turned his head to look at her. “But you’re a Sith, aren’t you?”

She shrugs. “I’m only me.”

“Well, I won’t tell them about you.”

“I’m certain they have enough high priority targets that they need not pursue a young woman that has spent months keeping their new recruit alive.”

He shifted his gaze back to the ceiling and pursed his lips. “We’ll see. I care more about you than… Dark Side hunting.”

“They can provide you with the training you want. Make you strong enough to protect people the way you want. At least learn from them before giving up.”

“I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“I can feel your hesitance. Is this not what you want?”

“Whatever training they have me do, I’ll probably not be able to see you for some time..”

Av leans down and touches his bare arm. Physical contact makes it easier to speak through their bond.  _ Any training worth having would be the same. Besides, what makes you think I won’t be able to find you? _

Castel grins and takes her hand in his, lacing their fingers.  _ That’s right. We have this. _

_ And you can at least trust I won’t need you to run to my rescue while you’re gone. _

_ Yeah, you can take care of yourself. _

Av stands up and grins down at him. “Do you think you’ll leave tomorrow, after you make the call? Will the separation start immediately?”

He grins back and tugs on her hand. “We’d better not risk it.”


	5. Settling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castel endures his initiation and life begins to fall into a routine.

Master Ster wastes no time before taking Castel to Taris. The Soldiers of Kyrsha have a base near the Endar Spire and their spiritual connection to Revan isn’t lost on him. It’s rare for a group of Jedi to recruit people unaffiliated with their parent Order, but the Soldiers of Kyrsha are too singularly focused on eradicating the Dark Side to care about whether or not Castel’s taken his Jedi vows.

His initiation comes before any training and he’s not sure if that’s normal or tied in with their zealotry. He sits in the middle of a room where all of the walls are mirrors while the leader, a stern miralukan Jedi named Shana Ultin, uses their proprietary Force technique, Kyrsha’s Light.

At first, nothing seems to happen. Then the room becomes incrementally brighter and brighter until Castel’s eyes burn. He looks away from Master Ultin, hoping she’s the source of the light. He looks down at his hands and flinches at what he sees. His normally white skin is mottled with grey splotches. He sweeps his gaze over himself in one of the mirrors.

For the most part, he’s glowing with a clear light that resonates with Master Ultin’s power. However, his shoulder, the one Av healed so long ago, is an aggressively dark scar that seems to suck in the light from the rest of his body. The mottling on his hands is the faintest shadow in comparison.

He looks back at Master Ultin as she starts chanting. The light turns blinding again and his hands start burning. He holds back a scream through force of will and Echani training, but the effort is wasted when the technique begins work on his shoulder.

Castel comes back to consciousness with spotty vision and no clear knowledge of when, exactly, he passed out. The light from the Force technique is gone and Master Ultin is standing patiently off to the side. Though his arm feels dead from the shoulder down, Castel gets to his feet and walks calmly to Master Ultin.

She smiles at him beneficently and pats his good shoulder. “Don’t worry. No one will be told what we saw here. You were relatively untainted for someone with no formal training. You should be proud. And I know well enough that this,” she pauses and touches his numb shoulder, “was the work of someone else.”

Castel swallows a lump in his throat and pushes back his memories of Av. “That technique. That’s how you know if someone uses the Dark Side?”

Ultin nods and leads him out of the mirrored room. “Correct. Anyone present can clearly see the corruption, too. It’s not limited to the user or the target. I can’t fathom why, but the Jedi Council has made its use taboo.”

“Why would they want to hide..?”

“That question is why my predecessors formed the Soldiers.”

\---

Despite the bond, Castel doesn’t contact Av during his first few weeks with the Soldiers. Once he began his training and realized just how little he knew about the Force and how poor his control was, he was too embarrassed to reach out. When Terran had finished his Echani training, he’d felt powerful and confident: ready to take on the galaxy. Now it was like he’d turned back into a gangly fawn with no control over his body and power.

He should have expected she’d find him. He’s nursing a drink in the Tarisian colony’s cantina when, out of nowhere, he feels Av’s presence through their bond. His posture straightens and he glances around at the other patrons, but thankfully he’s the only Soldier around.

“You looked right past me,” Av says, her breath hot on his ear.

Castel spins and pulls her into a crushing hug. “I missed you.” He pulls back just enough to get a good look at her and understand how he didn’t see her on his first pass.

Av’s red hair has been dyed a dark auburn and makeup covers the scars that crisscross her face. Her expression is the same as always, however. The serious set of her mouth and the bored light in her eyes is nothing like the glee and affection Castel knows is painting his. She brushes her hand across his cheek. “You think very loudly, sometimes.”

“I’ve had a lot to think about. It sounds stupid, but I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.” Castel pulls her down into the chair next to his.

“I tried to tell you.”

“I know. I should have listened sooner.”

“What matters is that you are learning now.”

Castel nods and rubs the back of his neck. “There’s been a lot of sitting still. Meditating. I had no idea you could use the Force to make your muscles work better. I thought you had just done something to, you know, make you faster and stronger than an echani.”

Av smirks and her pride is clear in the bond. “I did do something. Training.”

“You know what I mean. Cybernetics. Enhancements.”

She takes a sip from his drink. “Nothing so simple gives lasting power.”

“That’s what the soldiers say about the Dark Side. It makes you powerful, but only for a moment.”

“That is a lesson too often forgotten,” Av says. She adjusts her jacket. It’s a plain, brown, leatheris thing, but the cut is perfect for her and even as uncultured as Castel is, he can tell it’s expensive, even if at first glance, it can pass for what the colonists wear.

“Don’t people from old Sith families have, like, tattoos? On their face?” He gestures to his own. “We have a few, er, defectors in the ranks.”

Av frowns and turns to look at nothing. “I wouldn’t be free to travel here if I had them, would I?”

“Er, yeah. That wasn’t really subtle, was it?”

“Not particularly.”

“It’s just- Kyrsha’s Light reveals Dark Side corruption. And the places that you healed me… And, well, your accent is pretty clear, too. Not that I mind, but-”

“Reveals Dark Side corruption? What does that mean?” Av leans toward him, expression intense as her eyes seem to stare through to his soul.

“Where the Light shines… If the Dark Side was used, it looks black and corrupted. Like a living, writhing shadow is crawling on.”

Revulsion sinks deep into Av’s expression and she even flinches. “That sounds decidedly unpleasant.”

“They’re going to teach me the technique. I’m afraid of what I’ll see when I use it on you.”

“As you should be. With as much as I’ve been cursed and tortured, I’m sure I’ll look like a back hole.”

Castel opens his mouth to refute her claim. Master Ultin said that the technique was to reveal people who used the Dark Side, not those who had it used  _ on them _ .  _ But it hurt, badly, when she used it to cleanse my scar and I definitely didn’t do that to myself _ . He closes it.

“Either way,” Av says, “it’s good that they’re making you stronger.”

“I don’t feel much stronger. I struggle with everything.”

“If using the Force were easy, everyone would be a Master.”

“I know. I never realized how much I relied on my anger to use the Force,” Castel says. He sighs and takes one of her hands in both of his. For once, she’s not wearing gloves, undoubtedly to blend in.

“How are things otherwise? Are you faring well? You’ve put on some weight, so I know you’ve been eating regularly,” Av says. Her voice sounds concerned, but her expression is blank.

“Everything’s good. Since I went through the initiation, everyone just took me right in.”

“Have you gotten… close to anyone in particular?”

Castel quickly looks over her face, but doesn’t see any jealousy, nor does he feel any in their bond. “Well, I pestered Master Ster until he agreed to train me. And… well, I don’t know why, but I Force bonded to him, too. I had a bit of meltdown at first, but he said that it’s not uncommon for students to get close to their masters. Even if Force bonds aren’t usually how that manifests.”

Av nods in agreement. “Sometimes it just happens. You shouldn’t worry about it.”

“I won’t.” He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses her knuckles. “At least you don’t have to worry about me getting in trouble here.”

“Good. Your life is not meant to be lost so early.”

Castel grins at her. “I have too much to do for that.”

“Speaking of… I don’t have an apartment here, but my ship is on world.”

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 5 of the series will most likely be set "in the past" like Scoundrel Shenanigans. Depending on how much overlap there is, it may be moved to part 2 on completion.


	6. Shifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castel realizes he may have made a fundamental mistake.

Castel spends the next few months training with the Soldiers of Kyrsha on Taris. He keeps meeting with Av, sneaking off from the cantina and into her ship. Master Ster knows he’s in a relationship, but the Jedi assumes he’s embarrassed and never questions too deeply. A few of the other Soldiers  _ guess _ he’s seeing someone, but aside from a few teasing jibes, it doesn’t go anywhere.

He knows keeping secrets can lead to the Dark Side, but even without facial tattoos, Av is obviously Sith and with everyone able to shine the Light on her, a disguise wouldn’t matter. He’s seen what Sith look like under Kyrsha’s Light and he’s afraid Av will be just as ugly.

As soon as he’s given permission to pilot a ship on his own, Castel heads to Nar Shaddaa and asks Av to meet him at his old apartment. It’s nearly empty and most of what remains is trash, but when the familiar scents and sights hit him, his heart clenches, remembering all of the time they spent together.

He’s still staring at the cot when Av comes in behind him. He turns when she touches his shoulder. “Av. Thanks for coming.”

“Congratulations on finishing your apprenticeship. Though I didn’t expect you’d want to come back here.”

“I didn’t want anyone else to see.”

“To see what?”

“This.” Castel raises his hand and concentrates for a moment before Kyrsha’s Light flares out from his right palm and fills the dingy room. The trash is even uglier under the bright light from the technique and he calculates how long it will take to empty this place out to avoid looking at Av.

“Castel. There’s no need for this,” Av says, tugging on his arm.

“You don’t understand. I have to… Know.” Words leave him in a rush as he finally turns his eyes on her. Av is by no means the glowing beacon of Force that the Soldiers are, but neither is she blacked out by massive, writhing clouds of corruption.

Her mouth and neck are so black Castel can’t even rest his eyes on them, but given the curses she’s suffered, he’d be more surprised to find her unmarked. Her limbs and sabers are tinted by shadow, but lighter than his own hands were before his initiation. He shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand. You’re a Sith.”

“I told you before. I’m just me.”

“So you’re not… actively using the Dark Side. You can’t be.”

“Didn’t you trust me?”

“I’m sorry I doubted you.” He dispels the Light. “The Light can… cleanse the corruption, but it’s painful. You’ve suffered enough torture.”

Av steps forward and takes his hands in hers. Her face turns down in a sharp frown. “They  _ tortured _ you?”

“It wasn’t like that, Av. The initiation just- You can’t  _ use _ the Light if you’re tainted yourself.”

“I can’t stand to see you hurt, Castel.” She squeezes his hands.

“It won’t happen again. They’re like the family I never had. They’re good for me. Like you,” he says. Castel leans in and kisses her softly. “You’ve stood by me through all of this and done what you could to make me a better person.”

Emotions flutter across Av’s face too quickly to follow. In the end, she says nothing and just nods.

“I know you’re… reserved. I’m not asking for anything in return, but I love you.”

Av’s mouth curves into an o of surprise. Her hands tighten reflexively and her next few breaths shudder in her chest. “I-”

Castel cuts her off. “I told you; it’s alright. I’m not expecting you to say it back.”

She shakes her head. “I was just going to say, I have my own apartment on this moon.”

Castel’s breath catches in his throat. “You do?” It’s not that he didn’t suspect it, it’s that he didn’t think she’d admit to it.

“Yes. Hideously expensive. Decadent to the point of ridiculousness, but I have to keep up appearances. It’s secure; that’s what matters.”

“That sounds like an invitation.”

“It should.” Av steps away and pulls on Castel’s hand. “Come along. It’s in the Gilded District.”

Castel laughs. “Of course it is.” He hesitates before closing the door. Something about leaving  _ with _ Av seems so final. “I think I should stop paying rent on this pit.”

“You should,” she agrees.

Av is silent on the speeder, but for once her face isn’t a stoic mask of severity. She leads him into a towering building patrolled by sharply dressed guards with the Palinov insignia over their breast.

“It’s not a Cartel building?”

“Would you have come, if it was?” Av asks in return. She has to pull him through bio and retina scanners just to get  _ to _ the elevator, which requires an additional electronic signature. Some seventy floors up, Av exits the elevator and walks up to the only door. 

There’s no scanner or lock of any kind, but neither is there a handle or seemingly any way to open it. Castel watches as Av places her right palm in the center of the door and closes her eyes. Through their bond he can feel her exerting her will over the Force, but he has no idea what she does to make the door slide open. Eyes wide, Castel looks around her apartment. It’s nearly the size of the entire floor his apartment was squeezed into, but it’s mostly empty.

The floor is smooth, grey slate from wall to wall, though calling them  _ walls _ is understating the case. Instead of proper walls or even windows looking out over the smuggler’s moon, the rooms are lined with floor to ceiling holoscreens displaying sprawling, uninhabited countryside. Castel steps up to one and the image is so clear he can almost feel the breeze that’s bending the tall grass.

He looks back at Av to see her giving him the first real smile he’s ever seen. “It’s beautiful.” He’s not talking about the apartment.

“What else should I have spent my credits on?”

Castel walks past the plush couches and takes her hand again. “I seem to recall you spending quite a few of them on me.”

Av walks backwards, pulling him after her and into her bedroom. She releases him at the door and leaps backwards, landing in the center where she rolls around and laughs like she doesn’t have a care in the galaxy.

Part of Castel rejoices at seeing her so happy, but most of him is horrified by the realization that he’s never actually seen her  _ happy _ before now. The implications are huge, towering things that nearly block his vision, but he’s startled out of the thought when one of her boots hits him in the chest. He blinks his vision back to the present and watches Av toss her second boot and then her armor haphazardly off the sides of her bed to clatter on the floor.

“You really like this, don’t you?” Castel asks, his voice almost reverent. He’s afraid that one wrong word will turn her back into the shielded Force warrior and terrified that he doesn’t know which is the real Av.

“It’s the only thing I have that is mine alone.”

Castel wants to say she has him, no one else has a claim on him, no one else  _ could _ ever take her place to him, but something keeps him silent. He drops his armor on the floor just as carelessly and joins her.

\---

He’s afraid to open his eyes when he wakes, too afraid it had all been a dream. This is  _ Av _ . She’d always left the second he was spent. Much less stayed the night. Much less invited him to  _ her  _ apartment to spend the night. Much less--

No, his cot back in his run-down room wouldn’t feel anything close to the soft luxury of the bed he’s in now. He pinches himself and, when the softness doesn’t change, he dares to finally open his eyes.

Av is still sleeping beside him. Her face in sleep wears a peaceful expression he’s never seen before. It reminds him of when she’d been laughing the night before. Not a closed-off, taciturn facade but the real her, sleeping next to him. 

He’d been attracted to her from the beginning, but it is so much more now that he can see her like  _ this _ . He wishes she could look like that forever. He wishes he was strong enough to protect her from her mother and everyone else that had hurt her, or would hurt her if she let her guard down. 

_ I never want this moment to end _ , Castel thinks as he brushes a strand of hair from her face. He presses his forehead to hers and closes his eyes, tries to fall asleep just so he can wake up next to her a second time.   _ I love you, Av _ . 

  
  
  



	7. Severed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start going to shit.
> 
> But at least Castel knows the truth? Sort of?

In the morning, Av wakes him up with a firm shake on his shoulder. Her expression is determined, but not cold or distant. She motions for him to sit up and then scoots back on the bed to put space between them.

“What is it?” Castel reaches out and brushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

_ This is like the Echani language _ , she says with her hands.  _ It doesn’t use the same part of your brain as normal speech. They can’t listen in _ .

He feels cold and clammy, even though he’s still mostly covered by her decadent duvet. “What do you-” He cuts himself off when she holds a finger over her lips. He switches to the Force bond, but can’t even get a word across before he feels her lock down the connection. He bites his lip and drags the old memories of Basic sign language to the front.  _ But they’re listening the… other ways _ ?

She nods.  _ I have no choices. You must go and sever the Force bond _ .

Castel touches her hands gently.  _ I don’t understand. I feel like I just… Like I finally saw you. The real you. _

_ You’re in danger _ . Her gestures are sharp and urgent.

_ What about you? Will they hurt you? Your mother? Your master? _

_ I can’t explain. If they see it in your mind… _ She makes a combination of gestures Castel isn’t familiar with, but he gets the idea. Something violent and painful.

_ Come with me. The Soldiers- _

_ You must go. You must sever the bond. _ Her expression hardens and a frown cuts her face.  _ You will see me, but you must keep your distance. _

_ But I love you. _

_ So keep yourself alive for me. _

Castel can do nothing but stare for a few moments that feel like an age. “If I do this, will we ever be able to…?” 

_ If you don’t, you die. _

“Right. ….Right.” He switches back to sign language.  _ And they can’t know you told me anything. Right. _ Castel squeezes his eyes closed.  _ I’ll tell everyone I ended it. And you’re still… Trying to make it work. _

Av touches his face, her fingers just lightly brushing his temples until he opens his eyes.  _ I’m sorry. I don’t know what they want with you, other than the bond. _

_ It wasn’t real _ ?

_ This is _ .

\---

Severing the Force bond is easy for the Soldiers. Masters Ultin and Killian are both miraluka with a particularly strong ability to  _ see _ the Force and between them the ritual takes only an hour and leaves Castel without any emotional backlash.

At least, none from the severing itself. Castel can’t forget that his entire relationship had been a  _ lie _ . For some reason, Av’s mother or her master, or  _ someone _ wanted them to have a Force bond and she’d initiated it the only way she knew how.

Her attempts to get close to him were so comically heavy-handed in hindsight, but that doesn’t change how she’d made him feel. Even though she had been doing it for a job, Castel is still grateful she saved his life and kept him fed and talked him into receiving proper Force training.

For the first time in his life, Castel has a family and skills to protect them with and a real cause to fight for and… He owes it all to Av and he feels empty without her. Ironically, it makes his Force training easier, since he just feels numb inside. He doesn’t know if he should or even  _ can  _ still love her, so it’s easier to feel nothing at all.

Master Ster pretends not to notice Av lingering just out of sight, though he isn’t stingy with praise for Castel’s ending the relationship. “I know it was difficult. I watched you come to the realization that she wasn’t really compatible with our life as Soldiers. You did the right thing.”

Castel looks up from his beer and wants to flinch at the empathy in Master Ster’s face. “Did you ever have to..?”

“Leave someone behind? Yeah.” He takes a long pull from his glass. “It was in the last war, early in the Alderaan campaign. You grew up there, you remember how nasty the fighting was. She was the sweetest woman I ever met. Her smile was like the sunrise and the war never seemed to touch her. I… saw things. Experienced things. I couldn’t let myself be the one to taint her.”

Heart clenching, Castel nods. “I don’t think she ever really got out much. I kept surprising her with the simplest things.”

Master Ster nods in agreement. “What seems obvious to us can be an entirely alien world for someone else. I’ve gotta admit, I was worried about  _ you _ , at first. I caught a few glimpses of her and I would’ve sworn she was one of the Sa’alle girls.”

“Sa’alle girls?”

Yollan Ster shudders and shakes his head. “Some bad kark went down in the last war. This crazy Sith, Sybill Sa’alle, she was obsessed with having children. Might still be. Anyway, she’d pick out strong Force users. Jedi, other Sith, and get a child from them. By any means possible.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“There were ops to rescue the children, but they all failed. It was never publicized, but I was pretty high up in the Jedi’s military force, back in the day. Sa’alle had no problem murdering slaves or civilians, so we speculated that she needed a lot of her bloodline to power some ritual. The Sacking was a tragedy, don’t get me wrong, but I  _ am _ glad I never saw some city leveled with the blood of thirty little red haired girls.”

Castel’s mind flashes to Av signing ‘I have no choices.’ “Do you know what happened to them? After we were forced to sign the Treaty?”

Master Ster drains his glass before answering. “One ended up on Tython. She was mutilated and traumatized, but she seemed to take to Jedi life well, last I saw her. The Council will never let her off world. She might be an unwilling plant, even after everything she went through.”

“Are there really… thirty of them?”

“Shit, I don’t know. I don’t really want to know. I haven’t heard anything since I joined the Soldiers, but the Shadows had five or six young, female Lords they suspected of being Sa’alle’s brood, in addition to the padawan. It’s one thing for Sith to groom their apprentices for some heinous task, but this just… It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Is that why you joined the Soldiers?”

“Kid, I wish Sa’alle was the worst thing I’ve seen.”

“Oh.” Castel holds his glass with both hands and stares down at the bubbles. There are no coincidences in Force. Av probably  _ is _ one of the Sa’alle girls. She already admitted that her mother was the one to mutilate her.

_ Does that mean that this crazy Sith with a network of… daughters needs  _ me _ for something? _ He glances over at his master, but the older man is busy trying to get drunk enough to forget whatever memories Castel accidentally dragged up.  _ Should I… tell them everything? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized much too late that the signaler I use for thoughts is the same as the one for sign language. Sigh.
> 
> Also, I mentioned in the notes on Chapter 1 that Echani have a movement-based language, but that is separate. What Av and Castel speak with is a regional version of ASL. Because of cybernetics, implants and other medical solutions to mute/deafness, very few people actually know it. Castel knows because the Echani are in favor of a method of speaking with only their bodies, hence the earlier reference.
> 
> Also, I can't recall if it's scientifically proven as being a different part of your brain that processes sign language (as opposed to spoken or written language) but I do know that some people with problems to their speech centers can use sign language where normal speaking fails. Also, if you've ever tried to learn sign language, you will anecdotally feel that my assertion is accurate, so just roll with it.


	8. Cut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castel meets Av again. But she's not exactly talking.

Castel makes it all of the way to Master Ultin’s office before his courage gives out. Sitting in the stiff chair on the opposite side of her sturdy, durasteel desk, his fear takes over and all Castel can think of are the consequences of Sybill Sa’alle discovering the leak in her operation. She’s already muted Av and mutilated the girl on Tython; what’s to stop her from doing worse?

To her credit, Master Ultin doesn’t press him to speak, she simply reviews something on a lightpad while she waits. But it isn’t for long. Alarms blare and even though Castel leaps to his feet and immediately glances around for danger, Master Ultin slowly stands and raises an eyebrow high enough that it shows over her mask.

Castel’s muscles itch to sprint towards the gates, towards the source of the alarms, but he’s just out of his apprenticeship and such an act is more likely to see him ordered to hide in the barracks than anything else. So he measures his gait and walks two steps behind his leader. When he hears the call for Master Killian - their best Force healer - over comms, his anxiety ratchets up another notch and his intuition has never been great, but it’s screaming disaster with every move he makes.

Fully half of the Soldiers on base are collected in front of the gates. Castel can pick out the on duty guards - the four men all have nosebleeds and are being interrogated by the captains, but everyone else is near-frozen, staring at the crumpled form on the ground. Castel’s breath catches because Force intuition tells him what he fears most: it’s Av.

“Well,” Master Ultin says, “I suppose I owe you fifty credits, Yollan.”

Master Ster stands and steps away from… from Av as Master Killian approaches, her hands already glowing with the Force. He steps through the crowd until he’s at Master Ultin’s shoulder. “I never should have made that bet, Shana. I know better than to tempt Fate.”

“At least she’s not yours,” Master Ultin returns.

Castel wants to scream. He wants to fall to his knees and shout because can’t they see Av’s  _ dying _ ? Can’t they feel her Life trying to rejoin with the Force? Can’t they  _ see _ her? How can they stand there and, and speak so calmly! 

His hands don’t shake as he steps forward and he’s too Echani to shove past his brothers in arms. He feels like he’s in a holofilm, where the crowd leaves just enough space for the hero to pass through to reach his dying lover, even though he  _ knows _ he’s just that good at stepping around people, it feels so… inevitable. “Av? Av?”

“Hold Castel back,” Master Killian barks. She kneeling next to Av, but the healing light of her Force isn’t touching her.

“Av?” Castel shouts, barely able to feel the arms holding him back. He can’t feel anything except her. She’s dying. Even with his weak Empathy he can feel her agony, feel her weakness, feel her… He chokes on a sob. He hasn’t seen her in two weeks. Hasn’t felt her presence on the edges of his perception. He’d thought she was busy, off on some other mission, but…

Av’s red hair is matted with dried blood and her skin is so pale it’s nearly translucent, showcasing the deep bruising on every inch of visible skin. Her expensive clothing is stained and ratty, like it’s been dragged behind a speeder. Even with so many Soldiers around, Castel can hear her breathing: wet and ragged.

He struggles against the arms holding him back, even as the standard med team arrives and rolls Av onto her back. They’re hooking her up to machines, but Castel doesn’t have to be a trained medtech to know they won’t be enough. “Do something, Master Killian!”

Tia Killian accepts a bag from her padawan and slowly draws a single, clear crystal from it. With precise movements, she sets it next to Av’s head. “The girl has been cursed. Her body will not accept Force healing.” She holds a second crystal in front of her red miraluka mask before setting it on the opposite side of Av’s head.

“You can’t just do nothing! Let me- Let me bond with her again! Then you can heal her through me!”

Master Killian’s movements remain slow and methodical. She places two more crystals. “Undoubtedly, that is Sa’alle’s plan. She waits in her ritual circle for the moment you reinstate the bond. Then she will send out her curse.”

“I don’t care! I’ll suffer anything to save her life.”

“It is not your choice,” Master Killian says, her voice sounding like a durasteel door slamming shut. She stands over Av, her hands again glowing softly white. “You are still bound to others. We will not put them at risk.”

“No. No… Av, please. Don’t kill her. She has a chance. Please!” Castel can barely see through his tears.

One of the men holding him, a Jedi Knight who survived the Sacking, says, “Hasn’t she suffered enough, Cas?”

Master Killian’s crystals begin to glow almost as brightly as Kyrsha’s Light. The miraluka raises her hands and moves them in slow, precise gestures. A drop of sweat falls from under her mask. “I’m sorry about this, Sith.”

“No!”

But the Force ignores Castel’s cries. The light from the crystals flares and shoots into Av’s body, which doesn’t so much as twitch. Master Killian says something in a language Castel’s never heard before and then the light surges out of Av and back into the crystals. This time, her chest jerks up, before falling back onto the ground with a thump. 

All sound stops, so far as Castel can hear. He’s been deafened by the sound of her body hitting the ground and he can’t breathe. A moment passes, no more than thirty seconds of eternity before a thick cloud of purple-black essence seeps out of Av’s skin to hover above her for just an instant before it’s sucked into the crystals with the light.

Master Killian falls to her knees and shoves both glowing hands on Av’s chest and it’s like a signal that restarts time and Castel can hear the other Soldiers again, can hear the medical machines with their beeps and whirs,  _ can hear Av’s deep gasp for air _ .

Castel falls limp, held up only by his comrades as he cries. He can  _ feel _ Av again. His Sense of her is weaker, as if he’s trying to feel her across a great distance or through thick walls, but he doesn’t care because she’s  _ alive _ .

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Master Ultin is ice-fucking-cold.


	9. Cold Light

Castel sleeps only in fits and starts, and while sitting up in a chair next to Av’s medical bed. Academically, he knows Master Killian is keeping her unconscious and there’s no chance he’d miss her waking, but his heart won’t let him rest.

He rouses to full wakefulness when Master Ultin enters the recovery unit. Castel sits up in his chair and strokes the back of Av’s hand. 

“You said she knows Basic Sign?”

Castel nods and then looks at his leader.

Shana Ultin looks weary. Her miralukan mask goes a long way towards disguising her age and the burden she carries, but Castel can read it in her posture and the way she moves her arms. The Jedi Master takes a seat on Av’s opposite side and lifts one of her hands. “I’m going to wake her now. She needs much healing, yet, but some things cannot wait.”

“I know,” he says. He watches Av’s face as Master Ultin’s Force wakes her from the healing sleep.

Av is clearly in pain, but her breathing is steady. As she blinks awake, she curls her fingers around his.

“I’m here, Av. You’re safe.”

“I’m Master Shana Ultin. I’m going to adjust your bed into a rough sitting position. I know you’re in pain, but this cannot wait.”

Av squeezes her eyes shut as the bed moves and bends under her, but her hands sign a weak,  _ I understand _ .

“Is Castel the target of Sa’alle’s plot.”

_ Yes, but no _ .

Castel shifts uneasily in his seat as he waits for Master Ultin’s response. Then he glances at her and feels stupid because, of course, the master can’t  _ see _ . “She says ‘Yes, but no.’ And the no is more significant.”

“Obviously, you’re not the  _ end _ target. The technique was meant to go through you to all of the others with which you’ve bonded.”

Castel continues to translate.

_ It’s not Sa’alle’s plot _ .

“Impossible.”

_ My mother is Sa’alle, but she gave me to Darth Rencarn _ .

Castel mulls over the name after she spells it. “Like, Reincarnation?”

“Most likely,” Master Ultin replies. “Sith aren’t particularly clever. No offense intended, but I can only assume your ‘Av’ is Avarice.”

_ It’s not something I chose _ .

“We’re getting beside the issue. Darth Rencarn is spreading some curse through Force Bonds. Why Castel?”

_ One of many _ .  _ Empathy… _ Av make a gesture Castel is unfamiliar with. She can read his expression and tries a few others.  _ Empathy blocked. Encourages bonds. Mostly Zeltrons _ .

“Mostly Zeltrons…” Master Ultin repeats, tapping her fingers against her knee. “I can work with that. What’s Sa’alle’s plan?”

Av shakes her head and her hands shake from weakness when she signs.  _ I don’t know. We weren’t heirs. _

Castel stares at her, his heart hurting, and translates it wrong for Master Ultin. “She says she doesn’t know. She wasn’t an heir.”

“She has no tattoos, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Thank you, Av. I’m going to reapply the healing sleep.” Master Ultin pats Castel on the shoulder when she stands to leave. “Thank you for translating. She’ll have a difficult time adjusting.”

“Is it… permanent? Her lack of Force?”

“I won’t say it’s impossible, but you should assume there’s no way to reverse it.”

“...Right.”

“It was the only way to save her life. If you had Bonded to her, Rencarn’s curse would have killed you both. And more.”

“...I know. Thank you.”

“Get some rest.”

\---

“Av, I… I’m so sorry, about your Force. If I had listened to you. If I had gotten all of the Bonds cut, I could have bonded with you and-”

Av’s hand snaps out and covers his mouth. When he’s quiet, she signs,  _ And then we would both be dead. I believed I would not survive Rencarn’s task. I never thought I would live even this long. _

“Every breath you take is a gift. Seeing you like that, I’ve never felt such pain. I can’t imagine how it felt for you.” Castel shifts in his seat. He’s able to raise the chair so he’s sitting on the same level as Av, but it’s still a hospital chair.

_ I’ve had worse. Out of everyone… we were expendable. The others had a chance of becoming the next Lord Sa’alle. _ Av drops her hands in her lap and traces an old scar that cuts across the back of her left hand.

“You had a… Have a full sister?”

_ A twin. She is obsessed with twins, wanted them for herself. She did something while she was pregnant to ensure there would be two. But we were born without... _ She gestures to her face.

“So Sith are just  _ born _ like that?”

_ Ancient rituals on the bloodline, I think. It cannot be studied. The old families don’t want new families have them _ .

“That’s insane.”

Av makes a noise of agreement.  _ We learned to speak this way so she would not punish us. _

“What happened to her?”

_ I don’t know. We would be separated for weeks at a time. And then one time the day never came that we were brought together again. I hope she’s dead. _

At first, Castel flinches at the thought of Av wishing death on her twin. And then his heart aches because he remembers that there are things worse than death. “I’m sorry, Av. I didn’t- I  _ don’t _ want to upset you.”

_ No. _ She smiles at him and even though it’s genuine, it’s laced with so much sadness it nearly brings tears to Castel’s eyes.  _ I was never allowed to speak of her. Thank you. _

The last gesture is so simple, so sincere that it does release the tears. Castel is still wiping at his face when Master Killian enters the room. He sniffs and then dries his face with his sleeve.

For her part, Av straightens her posture, though she’s still confined to the medical cot.

“Cas, could you please return to your barracks for a time? I need to discuss Av’s condition with her.”

Castel feels his muscles tense. He glances at Av and then looks back at the master. “But you can’t see…”

“I have an interpreter I will holocall. This is a private discussion; I’m sure you can understand.”

He wants to protest, but holds his tongue. He stares the master down, though he knows it won’t change her mind. He understands that what passes between doctor and patient is private and he doesn’t want to trample over Av’s agency by insisting that he stay, but that doesn’t make him like it any more.

Av tugs on his sleeve.  _ I want you to stay. You intend to aid me in my recovery. It’s best you know _ .

After he relays her words, Master Killian’s mouth turns down, but the frown is more concern than disapproval. She studies the bedridden woman for a few moments before she steps up to Av on the side opposite from Castel. She leans over and whispers something in Av’s ear.

Av’s eyebrows shoot up like they’re trying to escape her face. Her hands gesture a startled  _ Still? _

“Are you  _ certain _ you do not want to have this conversation in private?”

Av’s frown is the same stoic disapproval she used to always direct at Castel.  _ Yes, I am certain. People have been having babies for millennia, I’m sure he can cope with it _ .

Despite her words, Castel chokes on the translation. “You’re pregnant?”

_ I can hardly believe it myself! I was certain the trauma would have been too intense _ .

Castel is on his feet before he consciously thinks about it. He’s about to start pacing when Av catches his sleeve and gives him a confused look. “I just- A baby! You.  _ Us _ .  _ We _ are having a baby. I can’t believe it!”

Av turns her disappointed expression on him.  _ I didn’t know until after I’d made you sever the bond. Then I thought I wouldn’t live long enough for it to matter. _

“No, I mean, I believe  _ you _ , it’s just so...Moon in the sky, this is…” Castel melts onto his chair more than he sits on it. He wants to hold her hand as an anchor, but she needs it to speak, so he drops it on her shoulder.

Master Killian clears her throat. “Indeed. Now, Av, how would you like to proceed in light of this news?”

Castel’s thoughts are so busy swirling in front of his eyes that he misses Av’s response the first time she signs it.

_ I don’t know. I assume you have some method of testing for permanent damage from my torture. I suppose my nutrition supplement will have to be changed, but I don’t know why you’re asking  _ me.

Castel is too surprised by her answer to think of something to say for himself.

“I meant, rather,” Master Killian says slowly, “to ask if you intended to terminate.”

_ No _ . Av’s gesture is firm and sharp, but it doesn’t look like anger. It looks like she had never even considered that an option and finds it preposterous, besides.

_ I suppose that makes sense, in a twisted way, _ Castel thinks.  _ If her mother was half as obsessed with having children as Master Ster made it sound, it makes sense that she’d have tunnel vision. _

“I see. I’ll instruct my assistant to prepare the procedures.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, normally, I leave any and all explanations about characters to the story itself. However, I know this is a very important issue to a lot of people (and it should be), so I am going to say straight up: Av is not anti-choice. 
> 
> The concept of abortion is completely foreign to her and she didn't even know it was something that people did. Castel was actually rather disturbed by her reaction to the whole thing and kept trying to discuss the issue with her. Her responses boiled down to "I don't care what anyone else does. Why do you want me to make decisions for other people?"
> 
> (C: What if the child was a product of a rape?  
> A: I would have already killed the rapist, so I don't see what that has to do with anything.  
> C: What if seeing the child made you relive the rape?  
> A: Then I would summon his ghost and kill him again.  
> C: I don't think you understand what I'm getting at.  
> A: Do you not want the child?   
> C: I do, but-  
> A: I don't see why it matters.  
> C: But other women-  
> A: I don't make decisions for them!  
> C: ...Nevermind.)


	10. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have settled somewhat. Now the Soldiers prepare to face Rencarn.

_ Castel, if you try to lift something for me one more time, I swear by the Force I will hit you with whatever it is. _ Av’s snatches the medkit out of his hands as soon as she’s done signing.

“Master Killian said that you shouldn’t strain yourself. Half-echani babies-”

_ She survived the torture, I think she can handle me getting a four kilogram medkit off of a not even particularly high shelf. _

Keever, lacking Castel’s self-control, laughs as she juggles the medkit while trying to sign. “I don’t know what she’s saying, but it’s hilarious to watch.”

_ He knows I’m not deaf, doesn’t he _ ?

“Keever, she’s going to throw that at you if keep talking,” Castel says.

Keever gives her the most ridiculously over-the-top Alderaanian bow he’s able to recreate. “My apologies, Av. You’re simply so competent at everything that I find it near unbelievable there is something you struggle with.”

_ Are you sure he passed his Jedi trials _ ?

“Sadly, I was his proctor, so I can assure you he did,” says Master Ster as he jogs up to the group. “You two, stop standing around and get back to practice. Rencarn isn’t just going to stand still and let you wail on him.”

Av tolerates Castel’s hug and kiss before he and his friend leave her alone with the Jedi master. She eyes him for a moment before unpacking the medkit on the durasteel table. While the Soldiers are training for their mission against Darth Rencarn, she’s restocking and updating their medkits.

“I know that you already told everything you know to Shana, but… I have some questions for you.” Master Ster stands opposite her, a datapad in his hands.

_ Ask them. I am here at your sufferance. _ Av glances at him once, but keeps her focus on the kit.

“We wouldn’t throw you out, baby or no. Castel or no.”

Av shrugs one shoulder.

“You don’t have to answer.” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “Do you… know the others? Your half-sisters?”

Av’s hands slow mid-motion and she gently sets the package of sealed injectors on the table.  _ We were raised as rivals. She couldn’t risk us allying against her. The others were kept in groups of three or four. No group knew of the others. At least, they weren’t supposed to. _

“You were different because you weren’t eligible.”

_ Yes _ . She touches her blank forehead with a quick brush of fingertips before returning to the medkit.

“How-” His voice breaks. “How many?”

_ Fifteen lived long enough to begin formal training. _ Av’s hand shakes as she moves a flask of kolto.  _ There were so many of us. No part of what she did was natural. Rituals to shorten gestation. Rituals to increase will. Rituals to resist possession. Ritual after ritual after ritual. _ Av gestures the last word with such vehemence that she cracks her knuckles on the table.

“She made you  _ watch _ ?”

_ She tortured us for the later ones. For the power it gave her. Before, any twin would do, but after… Blood of twins of the blood was better, even if we couldn’t carry the line. _

Yollan Ster’s breath catches in his throat. He opens and closes his mouth several times, unable to decide what to say.

_ She spent too much of herself. There will be no more. That’s when I was given to Rencarn. _

“I’m sorry.” The words hang in the air, unable to even begin chasing the spectres that haunt Av’s mind.

For her part, Av focuses on the kit, adding to her notes of what needs to be replaced. She closes the kit and raises her hand to summon the next. It doesn’t respond. There’s not even the slightest tickle in the Force to indicate that she wanted anything.

Master Ster turns and pulls down the next kit before setting it on the table in front of her. “I’m sorry,” he repeats.

Av’s fingers trace the edges of the case for moment. Instead of opening it, she signs to the Jedi.  _ I don’t want to know about the one on Tython. I can’t- _ Av fails to sign the next word after several attempts and instead presses her hands to the tears streaming down her face.

“Thank you for telling me. If you want anything, you need only ask.”

Av dries her hands on her trousers. She rubs her right hand over the still-unnoticable bump on her stomach.  _ Don’t let me hurt her. _

\---

In preparation for facing Darth Rencarn, Masters Ultin and Killian remove the blocks on Castel’s Force abilities. They mean to do it gradually, giving him time to acclimate, but as soon as they break the first curse, he’s hit full-force with the emotions of everyone in the base.

Keever, a Zabrak he’d met during his days on Alderaan, has an uncanny ability to block his own emotions and drags Castel onto a shuttle, where they float in solo orbit. Every few hours, Keever releases his hold just a little to ease his friend into his ability. “How is Av holding up? I saw in the file…”

“She’s not… any worse. She already knew Rencarn killed Sailens and her husband. She’s  _ angry _ at him, but without the Force, she doesn’t know what to do with that anger.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Av doesn’t really know how to express any of her feelings.”

Keever whistles. “That’s gotta be rough for your relationship.”

“The Empathy was helping. Now that it actually works…”

“She’s not going to be mad that you’re spying on her?”

Castel shakes his head and turns his lightsaber hilt over in his hands. “She’s never had any privacy, even in her thoughts. Compared to what she grew up with, my feeling her emotions is nothing.”

“I can’t imagine that. I grew up surrounded by servants-”

“Like me.”

“Like you - and then the Jedi enclave didn’t exactly have private rooms for initiates and padawans, but if  _ my _ boyfriend was cheating by reading my emotions, I’d be upset.” Keever leans back in his seat and uses the Force to juggle a few empty caf cans.

“Yeah, but you grew up around Force blinds. Every person she met before Sa’alle gave her to Rencarn was Sensitive. It’s not cheating if everyone can do it.”

“I guess. It’s pretty weird you’re still with her at all, what with how she was ordered to date you in the first place.”

“It is, but it also isn’t. Before was intense. Great and terrible with nothing in between. I  _ needed _ her, but I didn’t trust her to be there. Now it’s… The opposite.”

Keever laughs. “Well good. Too much passion leads to the Dark Side.”

“We have  _ no idea _ what we’re doing and the moon only knows that’ll only get worse when the baby comes, but we’re… partners now.” Castel smiles a little. “She might leave the Soldiers once she recovers from… everything… and can live on her own, but I think we’ll be alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to point out that Castel and Av's relationship is all kinds of messed up and is not healthy. They are in a better position than they were before when it was all manufactured by Rencarn. Because of what they've been through, they trust each other and can rely on each other, but the passion and the romance is effectively completely gone for the moment. They are simply good friends that are now gonna raise a kid together.
> 
> Things may change as time progresses, but they are living in a time of war and were both experimented on extensively with the Force. (And I realize there's a severe lack of PTSD, but that's not the kind of conflict I'm interested in writing about for this project.)


	11. Plagued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final confrontation.

The assault on Rencarn’s orbital base comes at the worst possible time. Or his daughter decides she’s ready to be born at the worst possible time. Either way, Castel is drenched in a cold sweat before he even boards the orbital station.

Masters Ultin and Ster lead the way, great beacons of Kyrsha’s Light floating in front of their breastplates. The very walls seem to sizzle as the Light touches them and Darth Rencarn’s long-laid traps and curses are burnt up before they have a chance to spring. Flashing, red, alarm lights line the hallway, but don’t even come close to tainting the bright, white Force light. The Soldiers stop at two, large durasteel doors.

“Darth Rencarn and his apprentices are behind these doors. He specializes in illusions and internal Force manipulation. The Light will protect you from the former. Brace yourself to resist the latter,” says Master Ultin as Master Ster begins to cut through the reinforced door.

Castel swallows the lump in his throat and draws the hilt of his lightsaber. It’s not the saber he took off the failed Jedi that first trained him, but neither is it one he made himself. The engraved, songsteel hilt was Av’s. She’d pressed it into his hands when he tried to stay with her for the birth.

Av had said nothing, then, just closed his fingers around the cool metal and initiated a soft kiss. There had been no fear or uncertainty in her eyes and Castel holds that image firmly in his mind as he follows the masters into the main hall. And that memory is the only thing that keeps him from vomiting when he looks around the room.

The walls are lined with altars, at least twenty. Each altar has a Sith bent backwards over it with their wrists and ankles bound together. Tiny gasps of Force flicker within each of them, so they’re alive, despite their unmoving, blank faces and glassy eyes pointed vaguely at the vaulted ceiling.

And four of them have bright, red hair and delicate Sith tattoos on their foreheads.

“Shana, the illusions aren’t dissipating,” says Master Ster. His voice is as sharp as broken glass and his body shakes with tension.

“That’s because they aren’t illusions, my little. lord. Lestére,” Darth Rencarn punctuates the last few words with the sharp clack of his boots on the steel floor. His black robes swirl with every step. A crackling shield of Dark Force energy reflects Kyrsha’s light away from him. “The Hierarchy has been waiting for you to assume your ancestral place.”

“Do Sith never find that gambit tedious?” asks Master Ultin. “Tell me, Vonar, has that _ever_ worked?”

“Ooh, you know my birth name. I’m quaking in my boots, really, Ultin.” Rencarn laughs. “This is what you brought to fight me? A few flash bangs and a single company of men? I’m almost insulted.”

The Sith waves his hand and all of the altars turn into spires of writhing, purple light. In unison, the mouths of the bound Sith open in silent screams. The Dark energy encroaches on the orbs of Kyrsha’s Light, casting crackling shadows over the Soldiers. One by one, the Soldiers furthest from the Light fall to their knees, crushed under the weight of the Dark spell.

With a curse, Castel conjures his own sphere of Light. It’s tiny compared to the masters’ and its Light is barely enough to keep him standing when the shadows flicker over him. He glances around and sees that Keever’s conjured his own and is dragging one of their unconscious comrades closer to Master Ultin.

“Stand down, Vonar. You’ve failed. Kyrsha’s Light will cleanse this place.” After she says the words, Master Ultin directs her orb of Light to the nearest altar. The Light grows as it consumes the Dark Force. The body on the altar thrashes and contorts under the the clashing energy.

“Please do. Each of my beautiful vessels is nearly pure Dark Force. When your little party trick kills them it will release my plague upon their web of Force connections.”

Master Ultin whips her arm to the side and the Light returns to her side. “I see you will resist our attempts for redemption.” She draws her saber hilt and lights the green blade. “As you wish.”

Rencarn raises his right hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Let’s not be too hasty, Ultin.”

Master Ster leaps forward and holds his lit saber mere centimeters from Rencarn’s neck. “That’s enough out of you, fiend. Your plague dies with you.”

“Too right, Lestére. Please, do continue.” The Darth’s yellow eyes flash red with the Dark Side crawling just beneath the surface.

“Yollan…” Master Ultin says.

“Yes, _Yollan_ , strike me down. It’s what you want, isn’t it? Revenge for how I forced you to kill Sa’alle’s daughter. Was she yours, too? She had the build for it, didn’t she? And that beautiful aptitude for trakata that you ignore. As if you can hide from your legacy.”

The pit drops out of Castel’s stomach and his Light falters as he tries to push through the shock. His head spins with the memory of their talk in the cantina, of what Master Ultin said when they found Av at the gates.

“You _bastard_ ,” Master Ster says with a snarl. He draws back from Rencarn, but only enough to build momentum for his strike.

Master Ultin’s hand shoots out and with the Force she holds Master Ster still, his lightsaber having cut through less than a centimeter of flesh on Rencarn’s arm. She jerks her hand back and Master Ster’s body copies the motion.

As one, the altars flare and slithering tentacles of Dark energy shoot from them to Rencarn’s wound, swiftly mending the flesh without a scar. The Sith laughs at the horror that consumes Master Ster’s expression. “Had enough already? I’m afraid you won’t avenge your daughter with that little scratch.”

“That’s quite enough, Vonar,” Master Ultin says. With two fingers held up and the rest curled around her saber hilt, the Jedi sweeps her hand forward and up.

Rencarn’s eyes roll back in his head and he slumps to the floor. Power from the altars winks out and again the area is full of the bright glow from Kyrsha’s Light. The Force still pulses gently from the bound Sith and even Rencarn.

Keever whistles loudly, even as he starts rousing their unconscious comrades. “You just put him to sleep! How’d you know it would work?”

The smallest smirk creases Master Ultin’s face. “When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Now then, let us unbind these poor souls and prep them for transport. Best that we take our time untangling Rencarn’s web.”

\---

Av looks up from her baby as Master Ster enters the small room Master Ultin let her turn into a nursery. She makes pointed eye contact before gesturing to her daughter with her chin. When Master Ster eagerly holds out his hands, she carefully passes the tiny girl over. She relaxes back into her chair and rocks it back gently.

“She’s beautiful,” Master Ster whispers.

 _Thank you. She is_ . Av gives him a little smile. _You have no need to whisper. Castel sleeps like the dead._

Master Ster laughs. “Too true. I had a hell of a time getting him up for training the first few months.” He holds the baby girl in one arm while reverently touching each of her tiny fingers.

_He told me what Rencarn said to you._

Master Ster grimaces and then takes a seat on the ottoman next to Av’s rocking chair. “I’m not surprised, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have appreciated him keeping his mouth shut.”

 _I know who my father was. While he was a Jedi in his time, he was not you_.

“I know,” he says. While moving slowly as to not jostle the baby, he pulls back the sleeve on his left arm, revealing a delicate, red tattoo of a complicated knot. “When my family left the Sith they removed the facial marks, but added this so we would never forget what we had been. Just as I got it from my father, any child of mine would carry it.”

_I don’t have Sa’alle’s marks._

“True, but I knew you weren’t mine from… Other methods.”

Av knows what he’s referring to and nods to show her appreciation for his lack of elaboration. _I know that mark._

“I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.” Tears well in his eyes, but he doesn’t let them fall. He rocks the little girl and imagines his own in her place. “Rencarn had a lot of information on Sa’alle. The Council believes it’s time to end her operations. I can’t afford to find out during the fighting.”

Av lets the unspoken question hang in the air between them for a few moments. _She was the smartest of all of us. After her Sith training, she joined the Imperial Officers Academy. She gained her power through respect, not fear. We all believed she would be the next Lord Sa’alle._

Master Ster’s breath shudders in his chest and his lips are pressed tightly together.

 _It was always going to be either her or Sailens. Sailens was more powerful, but she wasn’t loyal to the family._ Av sighs. _It’s not that we didn’t hate her; she wanted that. But we had to be loyal to the legacy. Had to want the prestige and power that came with our blood._

“How- How did it happen?”

_I had already been given to Rencarn, so I can only speculate. Somehow, she gained the trust of a Mandalorian clan._

“Mandalorians.” Master Ster huffs a laugh and the tears start falling from his eyes.

_They gave her strength that Sa’alle couldn’t take away. I imagine she feared your daughter would gain the power to kill her before she was ready to pass on the mantle. According to reports, Sa’alle killed her personally. I’m sorry._

“No. Thank you. The spectre of her has haunted me for years. I needed… closure.” He presses a wet kiss to the baby’s forehead. “That clan of hers may be willing to help us fight Sa’alle. The Council has always underestimated her; we’ll need whatever help we can get.”

_Clan Cerar. Her name was Xalonie._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 5 takes place "in the past" a la Scoundrel Shenanigans and will be posted eventually (tm).

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how much, if any, information about Echani is defined by our Lord and Master Disney in canon (1, 2, Clone Wars, 3, Rebels, Rogue One, 4,5, 6, 7) and there was not much even when all of the EU was canon. For the purposes of this story, relevant "facts" are:
> 
> 1) Echani are white skinned with white irises and hair.  
> 2) Echani are matriarchal.  
> 3) Echani have no Force traditions of their own.  
> 4) Echani are proficient at body language and have a non-verbal, contact/movement-based communication.
> 
> I'm not the best editor, but the intent is that "echani" as written without a capital letter refers to the race/bloodline and "Echani" with a capital letter is referring to the culture or ethnicity.
> 
> That aside, none of this information is particularly critical to the story as a whole. It is simply character background, similar to Aaron and Galaar from earlier parts being ~half Zeltron.


End file.
